A record 202.9 million consumers shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day, November 27, through Cyber Monday, December 1, according to the annual consumer survey released on Tuesday, December 2, by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
The figure reported is up from 197 million shoppers last year and surpasses the previous record of 200.4 million set in 2023. The total also exceeds the NRF’s initial expectations of 186.9 million shoppers over the holiday weekend.
“Thanksgiving weekend is an important time for families and friends to come together, and holiday shopping plays a key role in that shared experience,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in a media release. “This year’s record turnout reflects a highly engaged consumer who is focused on value, responds to compelling promotions and seizes upon the opportunity to make the winter holidays special and meaningful.”
The NRF said consumers turned out both in-store and online throughout the five days. A total of 129.5 million consumers shopped in-store, up 3 percent from 126 million in 2024. Online saw 134.9 million shoppers, up 9 percent from 124.3 million over the Thanksgiving weekend last year.
Black Friday remained the top shopping day for both in-store and online, attracting 80.3 million in-store shoppers and 85.7 million online, slightly below last year’s totals of 81.7 million and 87.3 million, respectively.
But NRF said shoppers ramped up their activity over the weekend, with Saturday drawing 62.7 million in-store consumers, up slightly from 61.1 million in 2024, and 63 million online shoppers compared with 53.9 million on Saturday last year.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving saw a surge in in-store shoppers, while online sales declined year-over-year. Sunday drew a record 32.6 million shoppers in stores, a 27 percent increase over the 25.6 million who shopped in 2024, while 38.7 million shopped online, up from 32.8 million last year.
Cyber Monday remained the second-most-popular day for online shopping, attracting 75.9 million consumers, up from 64.4 million in 2024.
Mobile remained the most popular way to browse and buy online on Cyber Monday for the second year in a row, with 46.9 million consumers shopping on mobile devices, up from 40.4 million last year.
Top Shopping Destinations
The top shopping destinations during Thanksgiving weekend were supermarkets (47 percent) and online (45 percent). Other top destinations included department stores (40 percent), clothing stores (37 percent) and discount stores (30 percent).
Nearly all (96 percent) of those who shopped over the Thanksgiving weekend made a holiday-related purchase, spending $337.86 on average on items such as gifts, holiday apparel, decorations, and other seasonal purchases. The NRF reported that this figure was up from $315.56 last year and is the highest figure since the 2019 record of $361.90. Approximately 67 percent ($225.74) of the total was spent on gifts this past weekend.
The top gifts purchased during this period were clothing & accessories (51 percent), followed by toys (32 percent). Books and other media (28 percent) increased from 22 percent last year and surpassed gift cards (26 percent) as the third most popular gift purchased during the weekend.
“Consumers continue to take advantage of the extended holiday shopping weekend with online deals on Cyber Monday. While mobile devices now lead as the most popular way to shop online for Cyber Monday, laptops also remain popular,” Prosper Executive VP of Strategy Phil Rist said. “Whether it’s new clothes or shoes, the season’s top toy, a new video game or a classic novel, shoppers are looking for that perfect gift for loved ones. They will continue to shop across the devices and destinations that best fit their needs throughout the busy holiday season.”
As of the Thanksgiving weekend, 84 percent of consumers had started holiday shopping; however, the NRF said that similar to last year, consumers still have about half (53 percent) of their holiday shopping left.
Methodology: The NRF defines the holiday season as November 1 through December 31 and forecasts that holiday spending will surpass $1 trillion for the first time this year, with growth between 3.7 percent and 4.2 percent over 2024. The survey of 3,099 adult consumers was conducted from November 26 to November 30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
